The new Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet, released only a few months ago, has been rooted, as spotted by Liliputing. Better yet, the rooting method was achieved by unlocking the bootloader through a chip exploit that the creator of the rooting method claims can only be patched by changing the hardware of the tablet. Read more ›

Amazon announced a new Fire HD 8 tablet yesterday that will be released in about a month. The tablet is identical in many ways to the model it’s replacing, but a key difference that isn’t mentioned in the announcement or on the product page is that the new Fire HD 8 will be the first Amazon tablet to run Fire OS 6, Amazon’s newest operating system. While an update to Fire OS 6 is preferred, it could cause app incompatibility issues at launch. Read more ›

As was expected, Amazon has just introduced an all-new Fire HD 8 tablet that replaces the previous model, which was released a little over a year ago. The new tablet is mostly identical to the previous model but comes with a couple of key upgrades. The new Fire HD 8 now supports hands-free Alexa that is always available, just like the flagship Fire HD 10 tablet. The new model also upgrades the front-facing camera to a 2 MP shooter that is capable of 720p video for much better video calling quality, compared to the previous model. Amazon has added these improvements while maintaining the same price of $79.99. Read more ›

Amazon’s new Show Mode feature for their Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets does a great job of replicating most of the Echo Show’s capabilities, as I discussed in my earlier article about the feature. The Show Mode Dock for those tablets is an optional accessory that adds a level of convenience to the Show Mode feature by holding the tablet at a viewable angle and seamlessly automating the transition between Show Mode and regular tablet mode. Read more ›

Amazon has launched a new software feature for their Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets called Show Mode that essentially turns the tablets into an Amazon Echo Show. This new mode works best in conjunction with the new Show Mode Dock that Amazon simultaneously announced, but the dock is not required. All the same hands-free Alexa features are available whether you have the dock or not. Here’s an overview of everything Show Mode on a Fire tablet has to offer and how it compares to the capabilities of the Echo Show. Read more ›

A new software update is rolling out to Amazon Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 tablets that adds hands-free Alexa capabilities. These tablets launched with Alexa onboard, but you had to press and hold the tablet’s home button before speaking to Alexa. Now, if the tablet is plugged into power or if the screen is on, you can simply speak to Alexa without needing to touch anything. Hands-free Alexa was previously only available on the Fire HD 10, but with this latest update, it’s now available on Amazon’s entire current tablet lineup. Only the latest 7th generation Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 tablets, that were released in 2017, are receving hands-free Alexa capabilities.

Amazon has announced that they are now selling two of their tablet models in Canada. The Fire 7 is available for CDN$59.99 (~$47 USD) with 8 GB of internal storage and CDN$79.99 (~$62 USD) with 16 GB of storage. The Fire HD 8 is listed for CDN$99.99 (~$78 USD) for the 16 GB model and CDN$129.99 (~$101 USD) for the one with 32 GB of storage. Both tablets appear to not include lock screen ads, like their US equivalents do unless you pay $15 extra. The Fire HD 10 and the Fire Kids Edition tablets are not yet available in Canada.

As expected, Amazon has announced refreshed versions of their Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 tablets, as well as an updated Fire 7 Kids Edition tablet and an all-new Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet. The new tablets are good, but not dramatic, updates to the tablets they’re replacing. If you purchase any combination of 3 tablets, regardless of which you select, you can receive 20% off if you use promo code FIRE3PACK at checkout. Read more ›